Specifications include, but are not limited to: Long‐Term Rent Assistance (LTRA) is a proven strategy and a critical tool to support housing stability‐ and for some people, is key to their ability to stay housed. LTRA provides rent subsidy to eligible low‐income tenants and allows landlords to rent apartments and homes to these tenants at fair market rates. Investing in LTRA resources is an avenue towards a future where fewer people live in shelters, motels, on the street, or doubled up in unstable arrangements; fewer families, seniors, and people with disabilities have to choose between paying the rent and buying necessities like medicine or food. Taken together, these benefits could substantially reduce low‐income households’ exposure to hardship and trauma and improve their chances of long‐term success, while also preserving the value of the investment the state has made into other services to rehouse households to begin with. Lane County’s Coordinated Entry system will act as the access point for Long Term Rental Assistance (LTRA) program referrals. Based on Lane County HMIS data, the following populations are disproportionately impacted by homelessness and housing access: people who identify as Black, Indigenous or Persons of Color, as having a disability, with a gender other than male or female OR persons fleeing or impacted by domestic violence, stalking or human trafficking. Lane County seeks to fund culturally specific organizations to conduct outreach and/or Front Door Assessments to these identified populations to connect them to Lane County’s Coordinated Entry system which is the access point for referral to the Governor’s Executive Order 23‐02 Long‐Term Rent Assistance (LTRA) program. Culturally specific organizations provide services for specific populations based on their particular needs. They are organizations where the majority of leaders and members/clients are reflective and/or have lived experience within that community, and use language, structures and settings familiar to the culture of the target population to create an environment of belonging and safety in which services are delivered. Culturally specific organizations also have a culturally focused organizational identity and environment, a positive track record of successful community engagement, and recognition from the community served as advancing the best interests of that community. The entity must be a business or non‐profit agency. Outreach may include sharing how to access homeless response system supports with organization members via newsletter, e‐mail, mailers, etc. Creating new tools to share homeless response system access points including flyers, magnets, translated documents, etc. Outreach agencies may include language specific TV/radio stations, culturally specific agencies, groups, clubs. Agencies providing outreach may receive up to $10,000. Front Door Assessments (FDA) include meeting with organization members who are homeless and asking a series of assessment questions to determine vulnerability. FDAs take approximately 30 minutes and are entered into an electronic form via HMIS. Agencies providing outreach and FDAs may receive up to $25,000.
